THE SACRED CONGREGATION FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION
LAY CATHOLICS IN SCHOOLS:
WITNESSES TO FAITH
INTRODUCTION
1. Lay Catholics, both men and women, who devote their lives
to teaching in primary and secondary schools, have become more and more vitally
important in recent years.(1) Whether we look at schools in general, or Catholic
schools in particular, the importance is deserved.
For it is the lay teachers, and indeed all lay persons,
believers or not, who will substantially determine whether or not a school realizes
its aims and accomplishes its objectives.(2) In the Second Vatican Council, and
specifically in the Declaration on Christian Education, the Church recognized the
role and the responsibility that this situation confers on all those lay Catholics
who work in any type of elementary and secondary schools, whether as teachers, directors,
administrators, or auxiliary staff. The Declaration invites us to expand on its
contents and deepen them; in doing this, it is not our intention to ignore or minimize
the significant accomplishments of Christians who belong to other Churches, or of
non-Christians, in the field of education.
2. The most basic reason for this new role for Catholic
laity, a role which the Church regards as positive and enriching, is theological.
Especially in the course of the last century, the authentic image of the laity within
the People of God has become increasingly clear; it has now been set down in two
documents of the Second Vatican Council, which give profound expression to the richness
and uniqueness of the lay vocation: The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, and
the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity.
3. Theological development has been reinforced by the social,
economic, and political developments of recent years. The cultural level has progressively
risen; because this is closely tied to advances in science and technology, every
profession requires a more extensive preparation. To this must be added a more general
awareness of the fact that every person has a right to an integral education, an
education which responds to all of the needs of the human person. These two advances
in human life have required, and in part have created, an extensive development
of school systems everywhere in the world, together with an extraordinary increase
in the number of people who are professionally trained in education. As a result,
there is a corresponding growth in the numer of Catholic laity who work in the field.
This process has coincided with a notable decrease in the
number of priests and Religious, both men and women, dedicated to teaching. The
decrease is due to a lack of vocations, to the urgent call of other apostolic needs,
and - at times - to the erroneous opinion that a school is no longer an appropriate
place for the Church's pastoral activity.(3) The efficacious work that so many different
Religious Congregations have traditionnaly accomplished through teaching activities
is greatly esteemed by the Church; and so she can do no less than regret the decline
in Religious personnel which has had such a profound effect on Catholic schools,
especially in some countries. The Church believes that, for an integral education
of children and young people, both Religious and lay Catholics are needed in the
schools.
4. This Sacred Congregation sees a genuine " sign of the
times " for schools in the various facts and causes described above; it is an invitation
to give special attention to the role of lay Catholics, as witnesses to the faith
in what can only be described as a privileged environment for human formation. Without
claiming to be exhaustive, but after serious and prolonged reflection on the importance
of the theme, it desires to offer some considerations which will complete what has
already been said in the document " The Catholic School ", and which will be of
help to all those interested in the problem, inspiring them to undertake further
and more extended developments of the same.
I.
THE IDENTITY OF THE LAY CATHOLIC
IN A SCHOOL
5. It seems necessary to begin by trying to delineate the
identity of the lay Catholics who work in a school; the way in which they bear witness
to the faith will depend on this specific identity, in the Church and in this particular
field of labour. In trying to contribute to the investigation, it is the intention
of this Sacred Congregation to offer a service to lay Catholics who work in schools
(and who should have a clear idea of the specific character of their vocation),
and also to the People of God (who need to have a true picture of the laity as an
active element, accomplishing an important task for the entire Church through their
labour).
THE LAITY IN THE CHURCH
6. The lay Catholic working in a school is, along with every
Christian, a member of the People of God. As such, united to Christ through Baptism,
he or she shares in the basic dignity that is common to all members. For, " they
share a common dignity from their rebirth in Christ. They have the same filial grace
and the same vocation to perfection. They possess in common one salvation, one hope,
and one undivided charity ".(4) Although it is true that, in the Church, " by the
will of Christ, some are made teachers, dispensers of mysteries and shepherds on
behalf of others, yet all share a true equality with regard to the dignity and to
the activity common to all the faithful for the building up of the Body of Christ
".(5)
Every Christian, and therefore also every lay person, has
been made a sharer in " the priestly, prophetic, and kingly functions of Christ
",(6) and their apostolate " is a participation in the saving mission of the Church
itself ... All are commissioned to that apostolate by the Lord Himself ".(7)
7. This call to personal holiness and to apostolic mission
is common to all believers; but there are many cases in which the life of a lay
person takes on specific characteristics which transform this life into a specific
" wonderful " vocation within the Church. The laity " seeks the kingdom of God by
engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God ".(8)
They live in the midst of the world's activities and professions, and in the ordinary
circumstances of family and social life; and there they are called by God so that
by exercising their proper function and being led by the spirit of the Gospel they
can work for the sanctification of the world from within, in the manner of leaven.
In this way they can make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of
a life resplendent in faith, hope, and charity ".(9)
8. The renewal of the temporal order, giving it a Christian
inspiration, is the special role of the laity; this should encourage them to heal
" the institutions and conditions of the world "(10) when it is seen that these
can be inducements to sin. In this way, human reality is raised up, and conformed
to the Gospel as far as this is possible; and " the world is permeated by the Spirit
of Christ, and more effectively achieves its purpose in justice, charity, and peace".(11)
"Therefore, by their competence in secular fields, and by their personal activity,
elevated from within by the grace of Christ, let them labour vigorously so that,
by human labour, technical skill, and civic culture, created goods may be perfected
for the benefit of every last person ... and be more suitably distributed among
them ".(12)
9. The evangelization of the world involves an encounter
with such. a wide variety and complexity of different situations that very frequently,
in concrete circumstances and for most people, only the laity can be effective witnesses
of the Gospel. Therefore, " the laity are called in a special way to make the Church
present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them
can she become the salt of the earth ".(13) In order to achieve this presence of
the whole Church, and of the Saviour whom she proclaims, lay people must be ready
to proclaim the message through their words, and witness to it in what they do.
10. Because of the experiences that lay people acquire in
their lives, and through their presence in all of the various spheres of human activity,
they will be especially capable of recognizing and clarifying the signs of the times
that characterize the present historical period of the People of God. Therefore,
as a proper part of their vocation, they should contribute their initiative, their
creativity, and their competent, conscious, and enthusiastic labour to this task.
In this way, the whole People of God will be able to distinguish more precisely
those elements of the signs that are Gospel values, or values contrary to the Gospel.
LAY CATHOLICS IN THE SCHOOLS
11. All those elements proper to the lay vocation in the
Church are, surely, also true of those lay people who live their vocation in a school.
But the fact that lay people can concretize their specific vocation in a variety
of different sectors and areas of human life would seem to imply that the one common
vocation will receive different specific characteristics from the different situations
and states of life in which it is lived.
If, then, we are to have a better understanding of the school
vocation of the lay Catholic, we must first look more precisely at the school.
The School
12. While it is true that parents are the first and foremost
educators of their children(14) and that the rights and duties that they have in
this regard are "original and primary with respect to the educational role of others",(15)
it is also true that among the means which will assist and complement the exercise
of the educational rights and duties of the family, the school has a value and an
importance that are fundamental. In virtue of its mission, then, the school must
be concerned with constant and careful attention to cultivating in students the
intellectual, creative, and aesthetic faculties of the human person; to develop
in them the ability to make correct use of their judgement, will, and affectivity;
to promote in them a sense of values; to encourage just attitudes and prudent behaviour;
to introduce them to the cultural patrimony handed down from previous generations;
to prepare them for professional life, and to encourage the friendly interchange
among students of diverse cultures and backgrounds that will lead to mutual understanding.(16)
For all of these reasons, the school enters into the specific mission of the Church.
13. The function exercised by the school in society has
no substitute; it is the most important institution that society has so far developed
to respond to the right of each individual to an education and, therefore, to full
personal development; it is one of the decisive elements in the structuring and
the life of society itself. In today's world, social interchange and mass media
grow in importance (and their influence is sometimes harmful or counter-productive);
the cultural milieu continues to expand; preparation for professional life is becoming
ever more complex, more varied, and more specialized. The family, on its own, is
less and less able to confront all of these serious problems; the presence of the
school, then, becomes more and more necessary.
14. If the school is such an important educational instrument,
then the individual being educated has the right to choose the system of education
- and therefore the type of school - that he or she prefers.(17) (When a person
does not yet have the capacity to do this, then the parents, who have the primary
rights in the education of their children,(18) have the right to make this choice).
From this it clearly follows that, in principle, a State monopoly of education is
not permissible,(19) and that only a pluralism of school systems will respect the
fundamental right and the freedom of individuals - although the exercise of this
right may be conditioned by a multiplicity of factors, according to the social realities
of each country. The Church offers the Catholic school as a specific and enriching
contribution to this variety of school possibilities. The lay Catholic, however,
exercises the role of evangelization in all the different schools, not only in the
Catholic school, to the extent that this is possible in the diverse socio-political
contexts of the present world.
The Lay Catholic as an Educator
15. The Second Vatican Council gives specific attention
to the vocation of an educator, a vocation which is as proper to the laity(20) as
to those who follow other states of life in the Church.
Every person who contributes to integral human formation
is an educator; but teachers have made integral human formation their very profession.
When, then, we discuss the school, teachers deserve special consideration: because
of their number, but also because of the institutional purpose of the school. But
everyone who has a share in this formation is also to be included in the discussion:
especially those who are responsible for the direction of the school, or are counsellors,
tutors or coordinators; also those who complement and complete the educational activities
of the teacher or help in administrative and auxiliary positions. While the present
analysis of the lay Catholic as an educator will concentrate on the role of the
teacher, the analysis is applicable to all of the other roles, each according to
their own proper activity. The material can be a basis for deep personal reflection.
16. The teacher under discussion here is not simply a professional
person who systematically transmits a body of knowledge in the context of a school;
"teacher" is to be understood as "educator" - one who helps to form human persons.
The task of a teacher goes well beyond transmission of knowledge, although that
is not excluded. Therefore, if adequate professional preparation is required in
order to transmit knowledge, then adequate professional preparation is even more
necessary in order to fulfill the role of a genuine teacher. It is an indispensable
human formation, and without it, it would be foolish to undertake any educational
work.
One specific characteristic of the educational profession
assumes its most profound significance in the Catholic educator: the communication
of truth. For the Catholic educator, whatever is true is a participation in Him
who is the Truth; the communication of truth, therefore, as a professional activity,
is thus fundamentally transformed into a unique participation in the prophetic mission
of Christ, carried on through one's teaching.
17. The integral formation of the human person, which is
the purpose of education, includes the development of all the human faculties of
the students, together with preparation for professional life, formation of ethical
and social awareness, becoming aware of the transcendental, and religious education.
Every school, and every educator in the school, ought to be striving " to form strong
and responsible individuals, who are capable of making free and correct choices
", thus preparing young people " to open themselves more and more to reality, and
to form in themselves a clear idea of the meaning of life ".(21)
18. Each type of education, moreover, is influenced by a
particular concept of what it means to be a human person. In today's pluralistic
world, the Catholic educator must consciously inspire his or her activity with the
Christian concept of the person, in communion with the Magisterium of the Church.
It is a concept which includes a defence of human rights, but also attributes to
the human person the dignity of a child of God; it attributes the fullest liberty,
freed from sin itself by Christ, the most exalted destiny, which is the definitive
and total possession of God Himself, through love. It establishes the strictest
possible relationship of solidarity among all persons; through mutual love and an
ecclesial community. It calls for the fullest development of all that is human,
because we have been made masters of the world by its Creator. Finally, it proposes
Christ, Incarnate Son of God and perfect Man, as both model and means; to imitate
Him, is, for all men and women, the inexhaustible source of personal and communal
perfection. Thus, Catholic educators can be certain that they make human beings
more human.(22) Moreover, the special task of those educators who are lay persons
is to offer to their students a concrete example of the fact that people deeply
immersed in the world, living fully the same secular life as the vast majority of
the human family, possess this same exalted dignity.
19. The vocation of every Catholic educator includes the
work of ongoing social development: to form men and women who will be ready to take
their place in society, preparing them in such a way that they will make the kind
of social commitment which will enable them to work for the improvement of social
structures, making these structures more conformed to the principles of the Gospel.
Thus, they will form human beings who will make human society more peaceful, fraternal,
and communitarian. Today's world has tremendous problems: hunger, illiteracy and
human exploitation; sharp contrasts in the standard of living of individuals and
of countries; agression and violence, a growing drug problem, legalization of abortion,
along with many other examples of the degredation of human life. All of this demands
that Catholic educators develop in themselves, and cultivate in their students,
a keen social awareness and a profound sense of civic and political responsibility.
The Catholic educator, in other words, must be committed to the task of forming
men and women who will make the " civilization of love "(23) a reality.
But lay educators must bring the experience of their own
lives to this social development and social awareness, so that students can be pepared
to take their place in society with an appreciation of the specific role of the
lay person - for this is the life that nearly all of the students will be called
to live.
20. A school uses its own specific means for the integral
formation of the human person: the communication of culture. It is extremely important,
then, that the Catholic educator reflect on the profound relationship that exists
between culture and the Church. For the Church not only influences culture and is,
in turn, conditioned by culture; the Church embraces everything in human culture
which is compatible with Revelation and which it needs in order to proclaim the
message of Christ and express it more adequately according to the cultural characteristics
of each people and each age. The close relationship between culture and the life
of the Church is an especially clear manifestation of the unity that exists between
creation and redemption.
For this reason, if the communication of culture is to be
a genuine educational activity, it must not only be organic, but also critical and
evaluative, historical and dynamic. Faith will provide Catholic educators with some
essential principles for critique and evaluation; faith will help them to see all
of human history as a history of salvation which culminates in the fulness of the
Kingdom. This puts culture into a creative context, constantly being perfected.
Here too, in the communication of culture, lay educators
have a special role to play . They are the authors of, and the sharers in, the more
lay aspects of culture; their mission, then, is to help the students come to understand,
from a lay point of view, the global character that is proper to culture, the synthesis
which will join together the lay and the religious aspects of culture, and the personal
contribution which those in the lay state can be expected to make to culture.
21. The communication of culture in an educational context
involves a methodology, whose principles and techniques are collected together into
a consistent pedagogy. A variety of pedagogical theories exist; the choice of the
Catholic educator, based on a Christian concept of the human person, should be the
practice of a pedagogy which gives special emphasis to direct and personal contact
with the students. If the teacher undertakes this contact with the conviction that
students are already in possession of fundamentally positive values, the relationship
will allow for an openness and a dialogue which will facilitate an understanding
of the witness to faith that is revealed through the behaviour of the teacher.
22. Everything that the Catholic educator does in a school
takes place within the structure of an educational community, made up of the contacts
and the collaboration among all of the various groups - students, parents, teachers,
directors, non-teaching staff - that together are responsible for making the school
an instrument for integral formation. Although it is not exhaustive, this concept
of the scholary institution as an educational community, together with a more widespread
awareness of this concept, is one of the most enriching developments for the contemporary
school. The Catholic educator exercises his or her profession as a member of one
of the constitutive elements of this community. The professional structure itself
offers an excellent opportunity to live - and bring to life in the students the
communitarian dimension of the human person. Every human being is called to live
in a community, as a social being, and as a member of the People of God.
Therefore, the educational community of a school is itself
a " school ". It teaches one how to be a member of the wider social communities;
and when the educational community is at the same time a Christian community - and
this is what the educational community of a Catholic school must always be striving
toward - then it offers a great opportunity for the teachers to provide the students
with a living example of what it means to be a member of that great community which
is the Church.
23. The communitarian structure of the school brings the
Catholic educator into contact with a wide and rich assortment of people; not only
the students, who are the reason why the school and the teaching profession exist,
but also with one's colleagues in the work of education, with parents, with other
personnel in the school, with the school directors. The Catholic educator must be
a source of spiritual inspiration for each of these groups, as well as for each
of the scholastic and cultural organizations that the school comes in contact with,
for the local Church and the parishes, for the entire human ambience in which he
or she is inserted and, in a variety of ways, should have an effect on. In this
way, the Catholic educator is called to display that kind of spiritual inspiration
which will manifest different forms of evangelization.
24. To summarize: The Lay Catholic educator is a person
who exercises a specific mission within the Church by living, in faith, a secular
vocation in the communitarian structure of the school: with the best possible professional
qualifications, with an apostolic intention inspired by faith, for the integral
formation of the human person, in a communication of culture, in an exercise of
that pedagogy which will give emphasis to direct and personal contact with students,
giving spiritual inspiration to the educational community of which he or she is
a member, as well as to all the different persons related to the educational community.
To this lay person, as a member of this community, the family and the Church entrust
the school's educational endeavour. Lay teachers must be profoundly convinced that
they share in the sanctifying, and therefore educational mission of the Church;
they cannot regard themselves as cut off from the ecclesial complex.
II.
HOW TO LIVE ONE'S PERSONAL IDENTITY
25. The human person is called to be a worker; work is one of the characteristics
which distinguish human beings from the rest of creatures.(24) From this it is evident
that it is not enough to possess a vocational identity, an identity which involves
the whole person; it must be lived. More concretely, if, through their work, human
beings must contribute " above all to elevating unceasingly the cultural and moral
level of society ",(25) then the educator who does not educate can no longer truly
be called an educator. And if there is no trace of Catholic identity in the education,
the educator can hardly be called a Catholic educator. Some of the aspects of this
living out of one's identity are common and essential; they must be present no matter
what the school is in which the lay educator exercises his or her vocation. Others
will differ according to the diverse nature of various types of schools.
COMMON ELEMENTS OF AN IDENTITY THAT IS BEING LIVED
Realism combined with hope
26. The identity of the lay Catholic educator is, of necessity, an ideal; innumerable
obstacles stand in the way of its accomplishment. Some are the result of one's own
personal situation; others are due to deficiencies in the school and in society;
all of them have their strongest effect on children and young people. Identity crisis,
loss of trust in social structures, the resulting insecurity and loss of any personal
convictions, the contagion of a progressive secularization of society, loss of the
proper concept of authority and lack of a proper use of freedom - these are only
a few of the multitude of difficulties which, in varying degrees, according to the
diverse cultures and the different countries, the adolescents and young people of
today bring to the Catholic educator. Moreover, the lay state in which the teacher
lives is itself seriously threatened by crises in the family and in the world of
labour.
These present difficulties should be realistically recognized. But they should,
at the same time, be viewed and confronted with a healthy optimism, and with the
forceful courage that Christian hope and a sharing in the mystery of the Cross demand
of all believers. Therefore, the first indispensable necessity in one who is going
to live the identity of a lay Catholic educator is to sincerely share in, and make
one's own, the statements that the Church, illuminated by Divine Revelation, has
made about the identity of an educator. The strength needed to do this should be
found through a personal identification with Christ.
Professionalism. A Christian Concept of Humanity and of Life
27. Professionalism is one of the most important characteristics in the identity
of every lay Catholic. The first reguirement, then, for a lay educator who wishes
to live out his or her ecclesial vocation, is the acquisition of a solid professional
formation. In the case of an educator, this includes competency in a wide range
of cultural, psychological, and pedagogical areas.(26) However, it is not enough
that the initial training be at a good level; this must be maintained and deepened,
always bringing it up to date. This can be very difficult for a lay teacher, and
to ignore this fact is to ignore reality: salaries are often inadequate, and supplementary
employment is often a necessity. Such a situation is incompatible with professional
development, either because of the time required for other work, or because of the
fatigue that results. In many countries, especially in those less developed, the
problem is insoluble at the present time.
Even so, educators must realize that poor teaching, resulting from insufficient
preparation of classes or outdated pedagogical methods, is going to hinder them
severely in their call to contribute to an integral formation of the students; it
will also obscure the life witness that they must present.
28. The entire effort of the Catholic teacher is oriented toward an integral formation
of each student. New horizons will be opened to students through the responses that
Christian revelation brings to questions about the ultimate meaning of the human
person, of human life, of history, and of the world. These must be offered to the
students as responses which flow out of the profound faith of the educator, but
at the same time with the greatest sensitive respect for the conscience of each
student. Students will surely have many different levels of faith response; the
Christian vision of existence must be presented in such a way that it meets all
of these levels, ranging from the most elementary evangelization all the way to
communion in the same faith. And whatever the situation, the presentation must always
be in the nature of a gift: though offered insistently and urgently, it cannot be
imposed.
On the other hand, the gift cannot be offered coldly and abstractly. It must be
seen as a vital reality, one which deserves the commitment of the entire person,
something which is to become a part of one's own life.
Synthesis of Faith, Culture and Life
29. For the accomplishment of this vast undertaking, many different educational
elements must converge; in each of them, the lay Catholic must appear as a witness
to faith. An organic, critical, and value-oriented communication of culture (27)
clearly includes the communication of truth and knowledge; while doing this, a Catholic
teacher should always be alert for opportunities to initiate the appropriate dialogue
between culture and faith - two things which are intimately related - in order to
bring the interior synthesis of the student to this deeper level. It is, of course,
a synthesis which should already exist in the teacher.
30. Critical transmission also involves the presentation of a set of values and
counter-values. These must be judged within the context of an appropriate concept
of life and of the - human person. The Catholic teacher, therefore, cannot be content
simply to present Christian values as a set of abstract objectives to be admired,
even if this be done positively and with imagination; they must be presented as
values which generate human attitudes, and these attitudes must be encouraged in
the students. Examples of such attitudes would be these: a freedom which includes
respect for others; conscientious responsibility; a sincere and constant search
for truth; a calm and peaceful critical spirit; a spirit of solidarity with and
service toward all other persons; a sensitivity for justice; a special awareness
of being called to be positive agents of change in a society that is undergoing
continuous transformation.
Since Catholic teachers frequently have to exercise their mission within a general
atmosphere of secularization and unbelief, it is important that they not be limited
to a mentality that is merely experimental and critical; thus, they will be able
to bring the students to an awareness of the transcendental, and dispose them to
welcome revealed truth.
31. In the process of developing attitudes such as these, the teacher can more easily
show the positive nature of the behaviour that flows from such attitudes. Ideally,
attitudes and behaviour will gradually be motivated by, and flow out of, the interior
faith of the individual student. In this way, the fulness of faith will be achieved;
it will then extend to such things as filial prayer, sacramental life, love for
one another, and a following of Jesus Christ - all of the elements that form a part
of the specific heritage of the faithful. Knowledge, values, attitudes, and behaviour
fully integrated , with faith will result in the student's personal synthesis of
life and faith. Very few Catholics, then, have the opportunity that the educator
has to accomplish the very purpose of evangelization: the incarnation of the Christian
message in the lives of men and women.
Personal Life Witness. Direct and Personal Contact with Students
32. Conduct is always much more important than speech; this fact becomes especially
important in the formation period of students. The more completely an educator can
give concrete witness to the model of the ideal person that is being presented to
the students, the more this ideal will be believed and imitated. For it will then
be seen as something reasonable and worthy of being lived, something concrete and
realizable. It is in this context that the faith witness of the lay teacher becomes
especially important. Students should see in their teachers the Christian attitude
and behaviour that is often so conspicuously absent from the secular atmosphere
in which they live. Without this witness, living in such an atmosphere, they may
begin to regard Christian behaviour as an impossible ideal. It must never be forgotten
that, in the crises " which have their greatest effect on the younger generations
", the most important element in the educational endeavour is " always the individual
person: the person, and the moral dignity of that person which is the result of
his or her principles, and the conformity of actions with those principles ".(28)
33. In this context, what was said above about direct and personal contact between
teachers and students(29) becomes especially significant: it is a privileged opportunity
for giving witness. A personal relationship is always a dialogue rather than a monologue,
and the teacher must be convinced that the enrichment in the relationiship is mutual.
But the mission must never be lost sight of: the educator can never forget that
students need a companion and guide during their period of growth; they need help
from others in order to overcome doubts and disorientation. Also, rapport with the
students ought to be a prudent combination of familiarity and distance; and this
must be adapted to the need of each individual student. Familiarity will make a
personal relationship easier, but a certain distance is also needed: students need
to learn how to express their own personality without being pre-conditioned; they
need to be freed from inhibitions in the responsible exercise of their freedom.
It is good to remember here that a responsible use of freedom also involves the
choice of one's own state of life. In contacts with those students who are believers,
Catholic teachers should not be hesitant to discuss the question of one's personal
vocation in the Church. They should try to discover and cultivate vocations to the
priesthood or to Religious life, or the call to live a private commitment in a Secular
Institute or Catholic apostolic organization; these latter possibilities are areas
which are often neglected. And they should also help students to discern a vocation
to marriage or to celibacy, including consecrated celibacy, within the lay state.
This direct and personal contact is not just a methodology by which the teacher
can help in the formation of the students; it is also the means by which teachers
learn what they need to know about the students in order to guide them adequately.
The difference in generation is deeper, and the time between generations is shorter,
today more than ever before; direct contact, then, is more necessary than ever.
Communitarian aspects
34. Along with a proper development of their individual personalities, and as an
integral part of this process, students should be guided by their Catholic teachers
toward the development of an attitude of sociability: toward others in the educational
community, in the other communities that they may belong to, and with the entire
human community. Lay Catholic educators are also members of the educational community;
they influence, and are influenced by, the social ambience of the school. Therefore,
close relationship should be established with one's colleagues; they should work
together as a team. And teachers should establish close relationships with the other
groups that make up the educational community, and be willing to contribute their
share to all of the diverse activities that make up the common educational endeavour
of a scholastic institution.
The family is " the first and fundamental school of social living "(30) therefore,
there is a special duty to accept willingly and even to encourage opportunities
for contact with the parents of students. These contacts are very necessary, because
the educational task of the family and that of the school complement one another
in many concrete areas; and they will facilitate the " serious duty " that parents
have " to commit themselves totally to a cordial and active relationship with the
teachers and the school authorities ".(31) Finally, such contacts will offer to
many families the assistance they need in order to educate their own children properly;
and thus fulfill the " irreplaceable and inalienable " (32) function that is theirs.
35. A teacher must also be constantly attentive to the socio-cultural, economic,
and political environment of the school: in the immediate area that the school is
located in, and also in the region and the nation. Given today's means of communication,
the national scene exerts a great influence on the local situation. Only close attention
to the global reality - local, national, and international - will provide the data
needed to give the kind of formation that students need now, and to prepare them
for the future that can now be predicted.
36. While it is only natural to expect lay Catholic educators to give preference
to Catholic professional associations, it is not foreign to their educational role
to participate in and collaborate with all educational groups and associations,
along with other groups that are connected with education. They should also lend
support to the struggle for an adequate national educational policy, in whatever
ways such support is possible. Their involvement may also include Trade Union activity,
though always mindful of human rights and Christian educational principles.(33)
Lay teachers should be reminded that professional life can sometimes be very remote
from the activities of associations; they should realize that if they are never
involved in or even aware of these activities, this absence could be seriously harmful
to important educational issues.
It is true that there is often no reward for such activities; success or failure
depends on the generosity of those who participate. But when there are issues at
stake so vital that the Catholic teacher cannot ignore them, then generosity is
urgently needed.
A Vocation, rather than a Profession
37. The work of a lay educator has an undeniably professional aspect; but it cannot
be reduced to professionalism alone. Professionalism is marked by, and raised to,
a super-natural Christian vocation. The life of the Catholic teacher must be marked
by the exercise of a personal vocation in the Church, and not simply by the exercise
of a profession. In a lay vocation, detachment and generosity are joined to legitimate
defence of personal rights; but it is still a vocation, with the fulness of life
and the personal commitment that the word implies. It offers ample opportunity for
a life filled with enthusiasm.
It is, therefore, very desirable that every lay Catholic educator become fully aware
of the importance, the richness, and the responsibility of this vocation. They should
fully respond to all of its demands, secure in the knowledge that their response
is vital for the construction and ongoing renewal of the earthly city, and for the
evangelization of the world.
ELEMENTS OF THE CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL VOCATION
WHICH ARE SPECIFIC TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF SCHOOLS
In the Catholic School
38. The distinctive feature of the Catholic school is " to create for the school
community an atmosphere enlivened by the gospel spirit of freedom and charity. It
aims to help the adolescent in such a way that the development of his or her own
personality will be matched by the growth of that new creation which he or she becomes
by baptism. It strives to relate all human culture eventually to the news of salvation,
so that the light of faith will illumine the knowledge which students gradually
gain of the world, of life and of the human race ".(34) From all this, it is obvious
that the Catholic school " fully enters into the salvific niission of the Church,
especially in the need for education in the faith ",(35) and involves a sincere
adherence to the Magisterium of the Church, a presentation of Christ as the supreme
model of the human person, and a special care for the quality of the religious education
in the school.
The lay Catholic who works in a Catholic school should be aware of the ideals and
specific objectives which constitute the general educational philosophy of the institution,
and realize that it is because of this educational philosophy that the Catholic
school is the school in which the vocation of a lay Catholic teacher can be lived
most freely and most completely. It is the model for the apostolic activity of lay
Catholics in all other schools, according to the possibilities that each one of
them offers. This realization will inspire lay Catholics in Catholic schools to
commit themselves sincerely and personally to share in the responsibility for the
attainment of these ideals and objectives. This is not to deny that difficulties
exist; among them we mention, because of the great consequences that it has, the
great heterogeneity of both students and teachers within the Catholic schools of
many countries today.
39. Certain elements will be characteristic of all Catholic schools. But these can
be expressed in a variety of ways; often enough, the concrete expression will correspond
to the specific charism of the Religious Institute that founded the school and continues
to direct it. Whatever be its origin - diocesan, Religious, or lay - each Catholic
school can preserve its own specific character, spelled out in an educational philosophy,
rationale, or in its own pedagogy. Lay Catholics should try to understand the special
characteristics of the school they are working in, and the reasons that have inspired
them. They should try to so identify themselves with these characteristics that
their own work will help toward realizing the specific nature of the school.
40. As a visible manifestation of the faith they profess and the life witness they
are supposed to manifest,(36) it is important that lay Catholics who work in a Catholic
school participate simply and actively in the liturgical and sacramental life of
the school. Students will share in this life more readily when they have concrete
examples: when they see the importance that this life has for believers. In today's
secularized world, students will see many lay people who call themselves Catholics,
but who never take part in liturgy or sacraments. It is very important that they
also have the example of lay adults who take such things seriously, who find in
them a source and nourishment for Christian living.
41. The educational community of a Catholic school should be trying to become a
Christian community: a genuine community of faith. This will not take place, it
will not even begin to happen, unless there is a sharing of the Christian commitment
among at least a portion of each of the principal groups that make up the educational
community: parents, teachers, and students. It is highly desirable that every lay
Catholic, especially the educator, be ready to participate actively in groups of
pastoral inspiration, or in other groups capable of nourishing a life lived according
to the Gospel.
42. At times there are students in Catholic schools who do not profess the Catholic
faith, or perhaps are without any religious faith at all. Faith does not admit of
violence; it is a free response of the human person to God as He reveals Himself.
Therefore, while Catholic educators will teach doctrine in conformity with their
own religious convictions and in accord with the identity of the school, they must
at the same time have the greatest respect for those students who are not Catholics.
They should be open at all times to authentic dialogue, convinced that in these
circumstances the best testimony that they can give of their own faith is a warm
and sincere appreciation for anyone who is honestly seeking God according to his
or her own conscience.(37)
43. Education in the faith is a part of the finality of a Catholic school. The more
fully the educational community represents the richness of the ecclesial community,
the more capable it will be of fulfìlling this mission. When priests, men and women
Religious, and lay people are all present together in a school, they will present
students with a living image of this richness, which can lead to a better understanding
of the reality of the Church. Lay Catholics should reflect on the importance of
their presence, from this point of view, alongside the priests and Religious. For
each of these types of ecclesial vocation presents to the students its own distinct
incarnational model: lay Catholics, the intimate dependence of earthly realities
on God in Christ, the lay professional as one who disposes the world toward God;
the priest, the multiple sources of grace offered by Christ to all believers through
the sacraments, the revealing light of the Word, and the character of service which
clothes the hierarchical structure of the Church; Religious, the radical spirit
of Beatitudes, the continuous call of the Kingdom as the single definitive reality,
the love of Christ, and the love of all men and women in Christ.
44. If each vocation has its own distinct characteristics, then all should be aware
of the fact that a mutual and complementary presence will be a great help in ensuring
the character of the Catholic school. This means that each one should be dedicated
to the search for unity and coordination. Furthermore, the attitude of the lay people
should be one which will help to insert the Catholic school into pastoral activities,
in union with the local Church - a perspective which must never be forgotten - in
ways that are complementary to the activities of parish ministry. The initiatives
and experiences of lay people should also help to bring about more effective relationships
and closer collaboration among Catholic schools, as well as between Catholic schools
and other schools - especially those which share a Christian orientation - and with
society as a whole.
45. Lay Catholic educators must be very aware of the real impoverishment which will
result if priests and Religious disappear from the Catholic schools, or noticeably
decline in number. This is to be avoided as far as is possible; and yet, the laity
must prepare themselves in such a way that they will be able to maintain Catholic
schools on their own whenever this becomes necessary or at least more desirable,
in the present or in the future. Historical forces at work in the schools of today
lead to the conclusion that, at least for the immediate future, continued existence
of Catholic schools in many traditionally Catholic countries is going to depend
largely on the laity, just as that existence has depended and does depend, with
great fruit, on lay people - in so many of the young Churches. This responsibility
cannot be assumed with passive attitudes of fear and regret; it is a responsibility
that offers a challenge to firm and effective action. And this action should even
now look to and plan for the future with the help of the Religious Institutes who
see their possibilities diminshing in the days immediately ahead.
46. There are times in which the Bishops will take advantage of the availability
of competent lay persons who wish to give clear Christian witness in the field of
education, and will entrust them with complete direction of Catholic schools, thus
incorporating them more closely into the apostolic mission of the Church.(38)
Given the ever greater expansion of the field of education, the Church needs to
take advantage of every available resource for the Christian education of youth.
To increase the participation of lay Catholic educators is not meant to diminish
the importance of those schools directed by Religious Congregations in any way.
The unique kind of witness that men and women Religious give in their own teaching
centers, whether as individuals or as a community, surely implies that these schools
are more necessary than ever in a secularized world.
Few situations are as apt as their own schools for the members of a Religious community
to give this kind of witness. For in the schools, Religious men and women establish
an immediate and lasting contact with young people, in a context in which the truths
of faith frequently come up spontaneously as a means to illuminate the varied dimensions
of existence. This contact has a special importance at a time of life in which ideas
and experiences leave such a lasting impression on the personality of the students.
However, the call of the Church to lay Catholic educators, to commit themselves
to an active apostolate in education, is not a call limited to the Church's own
schools. It is a call that extends to the entire vast teaching field, to the extent
in which it may be possible to give Christian witness in teaching.
In Schools That Have Different Educational Philosophies
47. We now consider all those schools, public or private, whose educational philosophy
is different from that of the Catholic school, but is not essentially incompatible
with the Christian concept of the human person and of life. Schools of this type
form the vast majority of the schools that exist in the world. Their educational
philosophy may be developed by means of a well-defined concept of the human person
and of life; more simply and narrowly, they may have a determined ideology;(39)
or the school may admit the coexistence of a variety of philosophies and ideologies
among the teachers, within the framework of some general principles. " Coexistence
" should be understood here as a manifestation of pluralism: in such schools, each
of the educators gives lessons, explains principles, and promotes values according
to his or her own concept of the human person, and specific ideology. We do not
speak here about the so-called neutral school because, in practice, such a school
does not exist.
48. In today's pluralistic and secularized world, it will frequently happen that
the presence of lay Catholics in these schools is the only way in which the Church
is present. This is a concrete example of what was said above: that the Church can
only reach out to certain situations or institutions through the laity.(40) A clear
awareness of this fact will be a great help to encourage lay Cathoics to assume
the responsibility that is theirs.
49. Lay Catholic teachers should be influenced by a Christian faith vision in the
way they teach their course, to the extent that this is consistent with the subject
matter, and the circumstances of the student body and the school. In doing " this,
they will help students to discover true human values; and even though they must
work within the limitations proper to a school that makes no attempt to educate
in the faith, in which many factors will actually work directly against faith education,
they will still be able to contribute to the beginnings of a dialogue between faith
and culture. It is a dialogue which may, one day, lead to the students' genuine
synthesis of the two. This effort can be especially fruitful for those students
who are Catholics; it can be a form of evangelization for those who are not.
50. In a pluralistic school, living according to one's faith must be joined to careful
respect for the ideological convictions and the work of the other educators, assuming
always that they do not violate the human rights of the students. Mutual respect
should lead to constructive dialogue, especially with other Christians, but with
all men and women of good will. In this way it can become clearly evident that religious
and human freedom, the logical fruit of a pluralistic society, is not only defended
in theory by Christian faith, but also concretely practised.
51. Active participation in the activities of colleagues, in relationships with
other members of the educational community; and especially in relationships with
parents of the students, is extremely important. In this way the objectives, programs,
and teaching methods of the school in which the lay Catholic is working can be gradually
impregnated with the spirit of the Gospel.
52. Professional commitment; support of truth, justice and freedom; openness to
the point of view of others, combined with an habitual attitude of service; personal
commitment to the students, and fraternal solidarity with everyone; a life that
is integrally moral in all its aspects. The lay Catholic who brings all of this
to his or her work in a pluralist school becomes a living mirror, in whom every
individual in the educational community will see reflected an image of one inspired
by the Gospel.
In Other Schools
53. Here we consider more specifically the situation in schools of what are called
mission countries, or countries where the practice of Christianity has almost totally
disappeared. The lay Catholic may be the only presence of the Church, not only in
the school, but also in the place in which he or she is living. The call of faith
makes this situation especially compelling: the lay Catholic teacher may be the
only voice that proclaims the message of the Gospel: to students, to other members
of the educational community, to everyone that he or she comes in contact with,
as an educator or simply as a person.(41) Everything that has been said above about
awareness of responsibility, a Christian perspective in teaching (and in education
more generally), respect for the convictions of others, constructive dialogue with
other Christians as well as with those who do not believe in Christianity, active
participation in various school groups, and, most important of all, personal life
witness all of these things become crucially important in this type of school situation.
54. Finally, we cannot forget those lay Catholics who work in schools in countries
where the Church is persecuted, where one who is known to be a Christian is forbidden
to function as an educator. The orientation of the school is atheist; laity who
work in them must conceal the fact that they are believers. In this difficult situation
simple presence, if it is the silent but vital presence of a person inspired by
the Gospel, is already an efficacious proclamation of the message of Christ. It
is a counterbalance to the pernicious intentions of those who promote an atheistic
education in the school. And this witness, when joined to personal contact with
the students, can, in spite of the difficulties, lead to opportunities for more
explicit evangelization. Although forced to live his or her Catholicism anonymously,
the lay educator can still be (because of regretable human and religious motives)
the only way that many of the young people in these countries can come to some genuine
knowledge of the Gospel and of the Church, which are distorted and attacked in the
school.
55. In every kind of school, the Catholic educator will not infrequently come in
contact with non-Catholic students, especially in some countries. The attitude should
not only be one of respect, but also welcoming, and open to dialogue motivated by
a universal Christian love. Furthermore, they should always remember that true education
is not limited to the imparting of knowledge; it promotes human dignity and genuine
human relationships, and prepares the way for opening oneself to the Truth that
is Christ.
The Lay Catholic Educator as a Teacher of Religion
56. Religious instruction is appropriate in every school, for the purpose of the
school is human formation in all of its fundamental dimensions, and the religious
dimension is an integral part of this formation. Religious education is actually
a right - with the corresponding duties - of the student and of the parents. It
is also, at least in the case of the Catholic religion, an extremely important instrument
for attaining the adequate synthesis of faith and culture that has been insisted
on so often.
Therefore, the teaching of the Catholic religion, distinct from and at the same
time complementary to catechesis properly socalled,(42) ought to form a part of
the curriculum of every school.
57. The teaching of religion is, along with catechesis, " an eminent form of the
lay apostolate ".(43) Because of this, and because of the number of religion teachers
needed for today's vast school systems, lay people will have the responsibility
for religious education in the majority of cases, especially at the level of basic
education.
58. Lay Catholics, therefore, in different places and according to different circumstances,
should become aware of the great role that is offered to them in this field of religious
education. Without their generous collaboration, the number of religious teachers
will not be adequate to meet the need that exists; this is already the situation
in some counries. In this respect, as in so many others, the Church depends on lay
collaboration. The need can be especially urgent in young Churches.
59. The role of the religion teacher is of first importance; for " what is asked
for is not that one impart one's own doctrine, or that of some other teacher, but
the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself ".(44) In their teaching, therefore, taking
into account the nature of the group being taught, teachers of religion (and also
catechists) " should take advantage of every opportunity to profit from the fruits
of theological research, which can shed light on their own reflections and also
on their teaching, always taking care ... to be faithful to the genuine sources,
and to the light of the Magisterium ", on which they depend for the proper fulfillment
of their role; and 'they should refrain from upsetting the minds of children and
young people ... with outlandish theories ".(45) The norms of the local bishop should
be faithfully followed in everything that has to do with their own theological and
pedagogical formation, and also in the course syllabi; and they should remember
that, in this area above all, life witness and an intensely lived spirituality have
an especially great importance.
III.
THE FORMATION THAT IS NEEDED IF LAY
CATHOLICS ARE TO GIVE WITNESS
TO THE FAITH IN A SCHOOL
60. The concrete living out of a vocation as rich and profound as that of the lay
Catholic in a school requires an appropriate formation, both on the professional
plane and on the religious plane. Most especially, it requires the educator to have
a mature spiritual personality, expressed in a profound Christian life. " This calling
" says the Second Vatican Council, speaking about educators, requires "extremely
careful preparation".(46) " (Teachers) should therefore be trained with particular
care, so that they may be enriched with both secular and religious knowledge, appropriately
certified, and may be equipped with an educational skill which reflects modern day
findings ".(47) The need for an adequate formation is often felt most acutely in
religious and spiritual areas; all too frequently, lay Catholics have not had a
religious formation that is equal to their general, cultural, and, most especially,
professional formation.
AWARENESS AND STIMULATION
61. Generally speaking, lay Catholics preparing themselves for work in a school
have a genuine human vocation; they are very aware of the good professional formation
that they need in order to become educators. But an awareness that is limited only
to the professional level is not what ought to characterize a lay Catholic, whose
educational work is the basic instrument for personal sanctification and the exercise
of an apostolic mission. What is being asked of lay Catholics who work in schools
is precisely an awareness that what they are doing is exercising a vocation. To
what extent they actually do have such an awareness is something that these lay
people should be asking themselves.
62. The need for religious formation is related to this specific awareness that
is being asked of lay Catholics; religious formation must be broadened and be kept
up to date, on the same level as, and in harmony with, human formation as a whole.
Lay Catholics need to be keenly aware of the need for this kind of religious formation;
it is not only the exercise of an apostolate that depends on it, but even an appropriate
professional competence, especially when the competence is in the field of education.
63. The purpose of these reflections is to help awaken such a consciousness, and
to help each individual to consider his or her own personal situation in an area
which is so fundamental for the full exercise of the lay vocation of a Catholic
educator. What is at stake is so essential that simply to become aware of it should
be a major stimulus toward putting forth the effort needed: to acquire whatever
may have been lacking in formation, and to maintain at an adequate level all that
has been already acquired. Lay Catholic educators also have a right to expect that,
within the ecclesial community, bishops, priests, and Religious, especially those
dedicated to the apostolate of education, and also various groups and associations
of lay Catholic educators, will help to awaken them to their personal needs in the
area of formation, and will find the means to stimulate them so that they can give
themselves more totally to the social commitment that such a formation requires.
PROFESSIONAL AND RELIGIOUS FORMATION
64. It may be worth noting that centers of teacher formation will differ in their
ability to provide the kind of professional training that will best help Catholic
educators to fulfill their educational mission. The reason for this is the close
relationship that exists between the way a discipline (especially in the humanities)
is taught, and the teacher's basic concept of the human person, of life, and of
the world. If the ideological orientation of a center for teacher formation is pluralist,
it can easily happen that the future Catholic educator will have to do supplementary
work in order to make a personal synthesis of faith and culture in the different
disciplines that are being studied. It must never be forgotten, during the days
of formation, that the role of a teacher is to present the class materials in such
a way that students can easily discover a dialogue between faith and culture, and
gradually be led to a personal synthesis of these. If we take all of this into account,
it follows that it would be better to attend a center for teacher formation under
the direction of the Church where one exists, and to create such centers, if possible,
where they do not yet exist.
65. For the Catholic educator, religious formation does not come to an end with
the completion of basic education; it must be a part of and a complement to one's
professional formation, and so be proportionate to adult faith, human culture, and
the specific lay vocation. This means that religious formation must be oriented
toward both personal sanctification and apostolic mission, for these are two inseparable
elements in a Christian vocation. "Formation for apostolic mission means a certain
human and well-rounded formation, adapted to the natural abilities and circumstances
of each person" and requires "in addition to spiritual formation, ... solid doctrinal
instruction ... in theology, ethics and philosophy".(48) Nor can we forget, in the
case of an educator, adequate formation in the social teachings of the Church, which
are " an integral part of the Christian concept of life ",(49) and help to keep
intensely alive the kind of social sensitivity that is needed.(50)
With regard to the doctrinal plane, and speaking more specifically of teachers,
it may be worth recalling that the Second Vatican Council speaks of the need for
religious knowledge guaranteed by appropriate certification.(51) It is highly recommended,
therefore, that all Catholics who work in schools, and most especially those who
are educators, obtain the necessary qualifications by pursuing programs of religious
formation in Ecclesiastical Faculties or in Institutes of Religious Science that
are suitable for this purpose, wherever this is possible.
66. With appropriate degrees, and with an adequate preparation in religious pedagogy,
they will have the basic training needed for the teaching of religion. Bishops will
promote and provide for the necessary training, both for teachers of religion and
for catechists; at the same time, they will not neglect the kind of dialogue with
the corps of teachers being formed that can be mutually enlightening.
UPDATING. PERMANENT FORMATION
67. Recent years have witnessed an extraordinary growth in science and technology;
every object, situation, or value is subjected to a constant critical analysis.
One effect is that our age is characterized by change; change that is constant and
accelerated, that affects every last aspect of the human person and the society
that he or she lives in. Because of change, knowledge that has been acquired, and
structures that have been established, are quickly outdated; the need for new attitudes
and new methods is constant.
68. Faced with this reality, which lay people are the first to experience, the Catholic
educator has an obvious and constant need for updating: in personal attitudes, in
the content of the subjects, that are taught, in the pedagogical methods that are
used. Recall that the vocation of an educator requires " a constant readiness to
begin anew and to adapt ".(52) If the need for updating is constant, then the formation
must be permanent. This need is not limited to professional formation; it includes
religious formation and, in general, the enrichment of the whole person. In this
way, the Church will constantly adapt its pastoral mission to the circumstances
of the men and women of each age, so that the message of Jesus Christ can be brought
to them in a way that is understandable and adapted to their condition.
69. Permanent formation involves a wide variety of different elements; a constant
search for ways to bring it about is therefore required of both individuals and
the community. Among the variety of means for permanent formation, some have become
ordinary and virtually indispensable instruments: reading periodicals and pertinent
books, attending conferences and seminars, participating in workshops, assemblies
and congresses, making appropriate use of periods of free time for formation. All
lay Catholics who work in schools should make these a habitual part of their own
human, professional, and religious life.
70. No one can deny that permanent formation, as the name itself suggests, is a
difficult task; not everyone succeeds in doing it. This becomes especially true
in the face of the growing complexity of contemporary life and the difficult nature
of the educational mission, combined with the economic insecurity that so often
accompanies it. But in spite of all these factors, no lay Catholic who works in
a school can ignore this present-day need. To do so would be to remain locked up
in outdated knowledge, criteria, and attitudes. To reject a formation that is permanent
and that involves the whole person - human, professional, and religious - is to
isolate oneself from that very world that has to be brought closer to the Gospel.
IV.
THE SUPPORT THAT THE CHURCH OFFERS
TO LAY CATHOLICS WORKING IN SCHOOLS
71. The different circumstances in which lay Catholics have to carry out their work
in schools can often create feelings of isolation or misunderstanding, and as a
result lead to depression, or even to the giving up of teaching responsibilities.
In order to find help in overcoming such difficulties; in order, more generally,
to be helped to fulfill the vocation to which they are called, lay Catholics who
work in schools should always be able to count on the support and aid of the entire
Church.
SUPPORT IN THE FAITH, IN THE WORD, AND IN SACRAMENTAL LIFE
72. Above all else, lay Catholics will find support in their own faith. Faith is
the unfailing source of the humility, the hope, and the charity needed for perseverence
in their vocation.(53) For every educator is in need of humility in order to recognize
one's own limitations, one's mistakes, along with the need for constant growth,
and the realization that the ideal being pursued is always beyond one's grasp. Every
educator needs a firm hope, because the teacher is never the one who truly reaps
the fruits of the labour expended on the students. And, finally, every educator
is in need of a permanent and growing charity, in order to love each of the students
as an individual created in the image and likeness of God, raised to the status
of a child of God by the redemption of Jesus Christ.
This humble faith, this hope, and this charity are supported by the Church through
the Word, the life of the Sacraments, and the prayer of the entire People of God.
For the Word will speak to educators, and remind them of the tremendous greatness
of their identity and of their task; Sacramental life will give them the strength
they need to live this career, and bring support when they fail; the prayer of the
whole Church will present to God, with them and for them, with the assured response
that Jesus Christ has promised, all that the human heart desires and pleads for,
and even the things that it does not dare to desire or plead for.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
73. The work of education is arduous, and very important; for that reason, its realization
is delicate and complex. It requires calm, interior peace, freedom from an excessive
amount of work, continuous cultural and religious enrichment. In today's society,
it is seldom that conditions can all be met simultaneously. The nature of the educational
vocation of lay Catholics should be publicized more frequently and more profondly
among the People of God by those in the Church most capable of doing it. The theme
of education, with all that is implied in this term, should be developed more insistently;
for education is one of the great opportunities for the salvific mission of the
Church.
74. From this knowledge will logically flow understanding and proper esteem. All
of the faithful should be conscious of the fact that, without lay Catholics as educators,
the Church's education in the faith would lack one of its important basic elements.
As far as they can, therefore, all believers should actively collaborate in the
work of helping educators to reach the social status and the economic level that
is their due, together with the stability and the security that they must have if
they are to accomplish their task. No members of the Church can be considered exempt
from the struggle to ensure that, in each of their countries, both the legislation
of educational policy and the practical carrying out of this legislation reflect,
as far as possible, Christian educational principles.
75. Contemporary world conditions should be an inducement for the hierarchy, along
with those Religious Institutes that have a commitment to education, to give their
support to existing groups, movements, and Catholic Associations of lay believers
engaged in education; and also to create other, new groups, always searching for
the type of association that will best respond to the needs of the times and the
different situations in different countries. The vocation of the lay Catholic educator
requires the fulfillment of many educational objectives, along with the social and
religious objectives that flow from them. These will be virtually impossible to
bring into reality without the united strenght of strong associations.
THE SUPPORT OF THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THEMSELVES.
THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL AND THE LAITY
76. The importance of the Catholic school suggests that we reflect specifically
on this case; it can serve as a concrete example of how other Catholic institutions
should support the lay people who work in them. In speaking about lay people, this
Sacred Congregation has declared without hesitation that " by their witness and
behaviour, teachers are of the first importance to impart a distinctive character
to Catholic schools ".(54)
77. Before all else, lay people should find in a Catholic school an atmosphere of
sincere respect and cordiality; it should be a place in which authentic human relationships
can be formed among all of the educators. Priests, men and women Religious, and
lay persons, each preserving their specific vocational identity,(55) should be integrated
fully into one educational community; and each one should be treated as a fully
equal member of that community.
78. If the directors of the school and the lay people who work in the school are
to live according to the same ideals, two things are essential. First, lay people
must receive an adequate salary, guaranteed by a well defined contract, for the
work they do in the school: a salary that will permit them to live in dignity, without
excessive work or a need for additional employment that will interfere with the
duties of an educator. This may not be immediately possible without putting an enormous
financial burden on the families, or making the school so expensive that it becomes
a school for a small elite group; but so long as a truly adequate salary is not
being paid, the laity should see in the school directors a genuine preoccupation
to find the resources necessary to achieve this end. Secondly, laity should participate
authentically in the responsibility for the school; this assumes that they have
the ability that is needed in all areas, and are sincerely committed to the educational
objectives which characterize a Catholic school. And the school should use every
means possible to encourage this kind of commitment; without it, the objectives
of the school can never be fully realized. It must never be forgotten that the school
itself is always in the process of being created, due to the labour brought to fruition
by all those who have a role to play in it, and most especially by those who are
teachers.(56) To achieve the kind of participation that is desirable, several conditions
are indispensable: genuine esteem of the lay vocation, sharing the information that
is necessary, deep confidence, and, finally, when it should become necessary, turning
over the distinct responsibilities for teaching, administration, and government
of the school, to the laity.
79. As a part of its mission, an element proper to the school is solicitous care
for the permanent professional and religious formation of its lay members. Lay people
should be able to look to the school for the orientation and the assistance that
they need, including the willingness to make time available when this is needed.
Formation is indispensable; without it, the school will wander further and further
away from its objectives. Often enough, if it will join forces with other educational
centers and with Catholic professional organizations, a Catholic school will not
find it too difficult to organize conferences, seminars, and other meetings which
will provide the needed formation. According to circumstances, these could be expanded
to include other lay Catholic educators who do not work in Catholic schools; these
people would thus be offered an opportunity they are frequently in need of, and
do not easily find elsewhere.
80. The ongoing improvement of the Catholic school, and the assistance which the
school, joined to other educational institutions of the Church, can offer to lay
Catholic educators, depend heavily on the support that Catholic families offer to
the school - families in general, and most especially those that send their children
to these schools. Families should recognize the level of their responsibility for
a support that extends to all aspects of the school: interest, esteem, collaboration,
and economic assistance. Not everyone can collaborate to the same degree or in the
same way; nonetheless, each one should be ready to be as generous as possible, according
to the resources that are available. Collaboration of the families should extend
to a share in accomplishing the objectives of the school, and also sharing in responsibility
for the school. And the school should keep the families informed about the ways
in which the educational philosophy is being applied or improved on, about formation,
about administration, and, in certain cases, about the management.
CONCLUSION
81. Lay Catholic educators in schools, whether teachers, directors, administrators,
or auxiliary staff, must never have any doubts about the fact that they constitute
an element of great hope for the Church. The Church puts its trust in them entrusting
them with the task of gradually bringing about an integration of temporal reality
with the Gospel, so that the Gospel can thus reach into the lives of all men and
women. More particularly, it has entrusted them with the integral human formation
and the faith education of young people. These young people are the ones who will
determine whether the world of tomorrow is more closely or more loosely bound to
Christ.
82. This Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education echoes the same hope. When it
considers the tremendous evangelical resource embodied in the millions of lay Catholics
who devote their lives to schools, it recalls the words with which the Second Vatican
Council ended its Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, and " earnestly entreats
in the Lord that all lay persons give a glad, generous, and prompt response to the
voice of Christ, who is giving them an especially urgent invitation at this moment;
... they should respond to it eagerly and magnanimously ... and, recognizing that
what is His is also their own (Phil 2, 5), to associate themselves with Him
in His saving mission ... Thus they can show that they are His co-workers in the
various forms and methods of the Church's one apostolate, which must be constantly
adapted to the new needs of the times. May they always abound in the works of God,
knowing that they will not labour in vain when their labour is for Him (Cf. I Cor
15, 58) ".(57)
Rome, October 15, 1982, Feast of St. Teresa of Jesus, in the Fourth Centenary of
her death
WILLIAM Cardinal BAUM
Prefect
Antonio M. Javierre, Secretary
Titular Archbishop of Meta
(1) Second Vatican Council: Const. Lumen Gentium,
n. 31: " The term laity is here understood to mean all the faithful except those
in holy orders and those in a religious state sanctioned by the Church ".
(2) Cf. Second Vatican Council: Decl. Gravissimum educationis,
n. 8.
(3) Cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education: " The Catholic School
", March 19, 1979, nn. 18-22.
(4) Second Vatican Council: Const. Lumen Gentium,
n. 32.
(5) Ibid.
(6) Ibid., n. 31.
(7) Ibid., n. 33.
(8) Ibid., n. 31.
(9) Ibid.
(10) Second Vatican Council: Const. Lumen Gentium,
n. 36; Cf. Decl. Apostolicam actuositatem, n. 7.
(11) Second Vatican Council: Const. Lumen Gentium,
n. 36.
(12) Ibid.
(13) Ibid., n. 33.
(14) Cf. Second Vatican Council: Decl. Gravissimum educationis,
n. 3.
(15) John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio,
Nov. 22, 1981, AAS, 74 (1982) n. 36. Pag. 126.
(16) Cf. Second Vatican Council: Decl. Gravissimum educationis,
n. 5.
(17) Ibid., n. 3.
(18) Ibid., n. 6; Universal Declaration on Human Rights,
art. 26, 3.
(19) Cf. Second Vatican Council: Decl. Gravissimum educationis,
n. 6.
(20) Ibid., n. 5; Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation
Evangelii nuntiandi, December 8, 1975, AAS 68 (1976) n. 70, pp. 59-60.
(21) Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education: " The
Catholic School ", n. 31.
(22) Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum progressio;
March 26, 1967, AAS 59 (1967), n. 19, pp. 267-268; cf. John Paul II, Discourse to
UNESCO, June 2, 1980, AAS 72 (1980) n. 11, p. 742.
(23) Paul VI, Discourse on Christmas Night, December
25, 1976, AAS 68 (1976) p. 145.
(24) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Laborem exercens, 14. Sept. 1981,
AAS 73 (1981), Foreword, p. 578.
(25) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Laborem exercens, ibid. p. 577.
(26) Cf. above, n. 16.
(27) Cf. above, n. 20.
(28) John Paul II, Discourse to UNESCO, June 2, 1980, AAS 72 (1980) n. 11,
p. 742.
(29) Cf. above, n. 21.
(30) John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio, AAS, 74 (1982)
n. 37, p. 127.
(31) Ibid., n. 40.
(32) Ibid., n. 36.
(33) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Laborem exercens, September 14,
1981, AAS 73 (1981) n. 20, pp. 629-632.
(34) Second Vatican Council, Decl. Gravissimum educationis, n. 8; cf. Sacred
Congregation for Catholic Education: " The Catholic School " n. 34.
(35) Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education: " The Catholic School ", n. 9.
(36) Cf. above, n. 29 and n. 32.
(37) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decl. Dignitatis humanae, n. 3.
(38) Cf. Apostolicam actuositatem, n. 2.
(39) The concept here is a more ample one: a system of ideas joined to social, economic,
and/or political structures.
(40) Cf. above n. 9.
(41) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decl. Ad Gentes, n. 21.
(42) Cf. John Paul II, Discourse to the Clerics of Rome Concerning the Teaching of
Religion and Catechesis, March 5, 1981, « Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo
II », 1981, IV, I, n. 3, p. 630.
(43) John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi tradendae, October 16,
1979, AAS 71 n. 66, p. 1331.
(44) Ibid., n. 6.
(45) Ibid., n. 61.
(46) Second Vatican Council: Decl. Gravissimum educationis, n. 5.
(47) Ibid., n. 8.
(48) Second Vatican Council: Decree Apostolicam actuositatem, n. 29.
(49) John Paul II, Discourse on the Occasion of the 90th Anniversary of « Rerum Novarum
», May 13, 1981 (not delivered), L'Osservatore Romano, May 15, 1981.
(50) Cf. Ibid.
(51) Cf. Second Vatican Council: Decl. Gravissimum educationis, n. 8.
(52) Second Vatican Council, Decl. Gravissimum educationis, n. 5.
(53) Cf. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, " The Catholic School
" n. 75.
(54) Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, " The Catholic School ",
n. 78.
(55) Cf above, n. 43
(56) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Laborem Exercens, AAS, 73, (1981)
n. 14, p. 614.
(57) Second Vatican Council, Decree Apostolicam actuositatem, n. 33.